Lovell's Prize

by Randy D. Smith

  "And the guy she's involved with? What would you do, John? Shoot him?"

  John acted surprised. "I might. I don't know. I just don't want her taking everything I have. If I can establish adultery on her part, I'd be in a much better position."

  Lovell's mind moved quickly. He didn't want someone else watching Bonny. It would be easier if he took on the assignment himself, but hell, when was there going to be enough of taking advantage of this man? "Let me think about it."

  "Come see me. We'll talk. This isn't a good time." Black turned to go back to the beer stand.

  Lovell needed to say something else before it was too late. "John, it strikes me that if you have to hire a man to watch your wife it might be best just to chuck the whole thing. What is the point?"

  John turned abruptly. "Because she's mine. I love her. I want her back."

  Lovell nodded and let him walk away. He was through with Bonny, no matter how he felt about her. Enough was enough. He would break it off with her immediately.

  He returned to Amelia and went on with the socializing. As the evening approached a fiddler and some other musicians appeared with a caller for the square dance. They danced until late in the evening. By eleven they were tired and he walked her back to her house. The entire affair was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. He liked her. He saw elements in her personality that he had never experienced before. She was lonely and he could tell she was the kind of woman who would not stay alone for long. She had too many good qualities.

  She unlocked the door to her house. "Would you like some coffee? We could sit on the porch and talk."

  Lovell nodded. "Yes, I would like that."

  He waited on the porch while she made coffee. After a while she returned with a pot and two cups. They sat on a porch swing and sipped their coffee.

  "Thank you for the invitation," she said. "I really needed to get out of the house and do something other than work."

  "I hope it's not the last time. I had a good time with you."

  "And I enjoyed your company. You are nothing like I expected."

  "What do you mean?"

  "You just aren't like you seem at the courthouse. You seem so businesslike and aloof. People working at the courthouse say that you are a hard man. But today I saw none of that. You were so easy. It's like you are two people."

  Lovell smiled. "Maybe it's the company I'm keeping."

  "I'm nothing special. I've had a lot of problems. You need to know that."

  "Problems with what?"

  "I'm crazy. When I was with C. W., we had a rocky relationship. We were apart as much as we were together."

  Lovell smiled. She was hardly the kind of person that anyone would think was crazy.

  "He tried to have me institutionalized after our daughter died. I guess you'd say I had a breakdown. But, we fought for years. He was never happy with me."

  "I don't have the best record. I've been married twice before, you know."

  "Yes, I've checked you out. I knew all about you before you asked me to the picnic."

  "Then why did you go with me?"

  "Why wouldn't I? You are a good man. Everyone says that. Some people don't like you because you are so outspoken but most say that you are an honest, hard-working man. The men you work with hold you in high regard."

  "Who's that?"

  "Marshal Nix, Judge Parker, several of the marshals. I've heard them talk very highly of you."

  "What did C. W. think?"

  "He didn't speak of you much, but then C. W. didn't spend much time with me. When he was home he tended to be somewhere else most of the time. He told me that you had a reputation of being a "book marshal" and that most said that you treated people like you did your job—by the book. Never too close—always separate and distant."

  "I guess that's true. This is a hard job. It's difficult when you get too close to people. You've seen what happened to C. W. and Pete Syle."

  "I think you'd be like that no matter what you did. You isolate yourself. It is your defense. You've been hurt in your lifetime, Don, and it shows. You don't let anyone in too far, do you?"

  Lovell nodded, uncomfortable with the fact that she could read him so well. "Is it that obvious?"

  "It is for me. I've had to live my life exactly the same way. C. W. kept me isolated and alone. He told me that I embarrassed him. I don't think he ever mentioned me to anyone he worked with. We were separated when he was killed. I really didn't know if he would come back or not. I always had to keep my guard up when I was with him, afraid I would anger him by saying or doing the wrong thing."

  Lovell thought of the day they had spent together. Never once had she conducted herself as anything other than a lady. Rather than being embarrassed, he had been proud to have such a woman in his company. "There's nothing wrong with you that I can see. You seem like a fine woman to me, Amelia. I would be proud to be seen with you anytime."

  "Maybe you just don't know me?"

  Lovell refilled his coffee cup. "I don't know about your problems with C. W. All I know is what I've seen of you. You are a very attractive woman with a good head on your shoulders and a fine sense of humor. You are fun to be with." He looked into her eyes. "You are a good woman, Amelia. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

  She nodded, somewhat embarrassed. "I hope so."

  Lovell grinned. "I know so. Enough of this kind of talk. Tell me about yourself."

  They spent a hour talking together on the porch. The more they talked the more he realized that she had been hurt in her relationship with C. W. There was vulnerability in her. She was strong in her sense of right and wrong, weak in self-confidence. She had been beat down in her life, much as he had been, but she was a good person with good sense and a strong desire to succeed. He recognized strength in her that he did not see in many people. She was the kind of woman a man could trust. Lovell saw that quality in few people. Finally, he had to give it up. He needed to let her get some sleep. Tomorrow was a workday. He bid her good night and walked toward his cottage. As he walked he thought of his day with her. It was the first time in many years that he had been so totally comfortable and at ease with anyone. She was everything that Bonny Black was and more but there were no strings attached with her. It was easy to be with her and comforting to have someone who just seemed to appreciate the little things in life with him. He wondered why C. W. couldn't have seen it. Why did some men not appreciate a good woman for her own sake? Why did they always expect more and not accept a woman, or a man for that matter, at face value? Why couldn't John have trusted Bonny more? He drove her away and now demanded her back on his terms and was unwilling to bend. If he would just back off, he could win her back. All either of these women wanted was to be respected and treated as individuals of value. All they wanted was to have someone who would listen to them and share with them. Why was that so difficult?

  When he got to his house, he saw a man sitting on his porch. It was Washington Boles, a black man who helped clean the courthouse.

  "Is zat you, Mr. Lovell?" he said as he stood.

  "Yes, it is. What are you doing here, Washington?"

  "Marshal Nix sent me to finds you. I didn't know where to look so's I waited here for you."

  "What is it?"

  "Bad news, Marshal Lovell. Marshal Nix wants you down at the courthouse with your horse as soon as possible. Trace Nodine broke out of jail tonight, along with two men named Parks and Yates. Marshal Nix wants to form a posse and go looking for them before they get too far away."

  Lovell went to his door and unlocked it. "I want you to go down to Big Bear stable and have my horse saddled. I'll gather my stuff and be there shortly. If I'm not there when you get the horse saddled meet me on Beal Street. It's a straight walk to the stable. I'll be walking down it. You can meet me on the way."

  "Don't you want me to tell Marshal Nix that I found you?"

  "No. Getting that horse is more important. Go now, Washington. Time's a wasting."

  Chapter 18
r />   Several horses were tied in front of the courthouse when Lovell arrived on his black gelding. Men waited on the front verandah for instructions. Ned Bells was among them, as were marshals Chris Madsen, Heck Thomas and Isom Richards. He did not recognize several of the other men. He tied his horse and went to Heck Thomas.

  "What happened?" Lovell asked.

  Thomas, a young, short, stocky man with handlebar mustache, pointed to a window on the second floor. "Evidently Parks and Yates were able to jimmy the lock on the cell door. They jumped the guard, worked their way to Nodine's cell, and let him out. The three of them crawled out of that window."

  "What about the other guards?"

  "There were only two guards on duty, what with the celebration and all. The basement guard was beaten pretty badly and the other sounded the alarm when he found him during the midnight count."

  "Then they may still be in town."

  "I doubt it. Horses and saddles are missing from Davis Pens. Three men were seen riding hard from the area."

  Isaac Parker and Evett Nix stepped from the courthouse entrance.

  "How many men do we have assembled?" Nix asked.

  "Fourteen," Chris Madsen said. "Four deputy marshals and ten volunteers."

  Nix looked at Lovell. "You helped bring them in the first time, Don. What do you think?"

  "I think they need to figure a way across the river. They are sure to head for the Indian Territory. They have no support in Arkansas. The closest ferries other than here are ten miles up stream and twenty miles down stream. I figure they'll head for the one to the east."

  "Why not west?"

  "The telegraph line works west and men could cut them off. The only thing between them and Cooper's Crossing to the east is road."

  Nix nodded. "Makes sense, but we can't take the risk. I think we need to divide this posse. I want Chris and Heck to take seven men and ride for the west ferry at Tulip. Don Lovell and Isom Richards will take seven men and ride for Cooper's Crossing."

  "I want Ned Bells with me," Lovell said.

  Nix nodded. "Fair enough. Heck, you're lead marshal with your posse. Don, you're lead marshal with yours."

  Judge Parker stepped forward. "I want you men to understand one thing. As of tonight, there's a two-thousand-dollar bounty on Trace Nodine. Yates and Parks are worth five hundred apiece. I want these men brought in dead or alive. I do not want the humiliation of Trace Nodine continuing with his outlawry after having been sentenced by this court."

  "Then let's get going, men," Nix said.

  As Lovell started to mount he felt the firm touch of Nix on his shoulder. "Bass Reeves should be in tomorrow. Do you want me to send him to you?"

  "I could use Bass. Isom is a good young marshal but I would like a more experienced man. I'm sure I'm right about Nodine riding south."

  "I know, but I can't take the risk. He might be smarter than that. Here, take this." It was Pete Syle's Greener shotgun and a box of cartridges.

  "I don't normally carry a shotgun, Evett."

  "Carry it. It might come in handy. It was Pete's. I want it taken along."

  Lovell nodded, placed the shells in his saddlebags and tied the shotgun to his bedroll.

  "If you don't cut them off and they make it into the Territory, what will you do?"

  "Follow their trail if there is one. If not, I'm going to ride hard for Lucky Lucy's place north of Black Fork on the Poteau River. Bass knows where it is. If we're too late to catch them there, I'm betting we'll be able to find a trail. That's why I want Ned along."

  "And if they aren't at Lucky Lucy's?"

  "Then they are gone, Evett. They could be any one of a thousand places. If we don't get Nodine early and he has time to get supplied and into the hills, it will be months before we hear from him again."

  Nix nodded. "Don't let that happen. I want that man caught."

  "No more than I," Lovell said as he swung into his saddle. He motioned to his men and set off at a gallop for Cooper's Crossing.

  The sun was just breaking the horizon as they rode out of Fort Smith.

  * * * *

  It was midday when they reached the ferry. Three men fitting the descriptions of Nodine, Yates and Parks had been waiting for the ferry when it opened that morning. Lovell sent a man back to Fort Smith to relay the information and to tell Nix that he was proceeding to Lucky Lucy's cabin. He requested that Thomas's posse be sent south if he had no promising leads.

  They set out for the cabin without resting the horses. By nightfall they had ridden another thirty miles and were close to Lucy's cabin. Lovell ordered a halt and told the men to eat and take a short rest. He wanted to surround Lucy's cabin before daybreak. If Nodine was not at the cabin and there was no sign of him, there would be plenty of time to rest then.

  Isom Richards came to him while they ate. Richards was a young man and first-year marshal. He was slightly built and handsome. "These horses are done in and the men are complaining. Do you think we should push on before morning?"

  "We have to catch them early. If we wait, Nodine will be on fresh mounts and gone into the Territory. We might as well go back to Fort Smith."

  "Why wouldn't he just ride on tonight?"

  Lovell smiled. "I'm betting on Lucy. Nodine won't want to ride off from his woman after six months without taking his pleasures. I'm betting Lucy will wear him out and he'll sleep in until first light."

  "How can you be so sure?"

  "Lucy is quite a young woman. I'm betting she'll be too much of a temptation."

  "You know Nodine that well."

  Lovell grinned broadly. "I know all men that well. You've never seen Lucy, Richards. She's a…well, let me put it this way…she's a very healthy young woman."

  Richards smiled. "Everything hinges on one woman. That's a hell of a note."

  "It usually does, son. From my experience, it usually does. There's one thing I've learned about women. You can't wear out that thing between their legs. No matter how hard you try, you'll wear out before it does. Men keep trying and it always slows them down."

  "You talk like a man of experience."

  "Enough experience to know that men do three things with their pecker. The third thing is think. When you get old enough to quit thinking with the damn thing, you don't make nearly as many mistakes. I'm betting Trace Nodine isn't that old yet."

  "I guess I've been put in my place," Richards smiled.

  "No, son," Lovell said with a grin. "You just got a lesson in manhunting."

  Two hours later they were back in the saddle. With three hours remaining before dawn, they were on the ridge above Lucy's. Lovell ordered all men to draw their rifles. He sent Richards and two men to watch the back door. He took Ned and two men to find cover in the front. As the sun broke the horizon, he made out Nodine's horses in the lot next to the barn.

  "We've got them, Ned. They're still in the house."

  Yancy Parks stepped through the front door and began taking a piss from the step.

  Lovell aimed his Winchester at Yancy's chest and pulled the trigger. Parks fell back against the wall and staggered through the front door.

  "Federal marshals! Throw down your guns and come out with your hands up!" Lovell yelled.

  Gunfire erupted from the cabin.

  "Pour it to 'em!" Lovell ordered.

  Bullets riddled the cabin walls. Seconds later Nodine, Lucy and Thug Yates bolted from the back door of the cabin. Richards and his men laid down a withering fire. Lucy fell with a bullet in her thigh and Yates collapsed face down in the dirt. Nodine took some hits and retreated back into the cabin.

  "How'd you do?" Lovell called to Richards.

  "We got two down but Nodine went back in the cabin. We ain't seen the one with the withered arm."

  They waited for thirty minutes with nothing coming from the cabin. Lovell checked his watch, grabbed Pete Syle's shotgun and put four extra shells in his vest pocket. "I'm going in Ned. Keep a rifle trained on that window." He called out. "Richards! I'm g
oing in! Keep yourself ready!"

  "You want us to come in from the back?" Richards called.

  "No, keep your guns trained on the cabin and don't shoot Lovell!"

  He could hear men laughing from Richard's position. He cocked the hammers on the shotgun and walked swiftly toward the front door. He waited by the door and listened for sounds. "Nodine, I want you to surrender now. If I have to come in there with this shotgun, you're a dead man."

  There was a sound of scuffling, then, "Alright. I'm a coming out. Don't shoots me."

  Lovell stepped back and crouched at the edge of the step, aiming the shotgun at the door. "Throw out them guns before you show or I'll shoot you down."

  The door opened a bit and a Colt revolver was tossed on the step. "Dat's Yancy's gun," Nodine said. "Here's mine." Another Colt and a Winchester landed on the step.

  "Step out, Nodine," Lovell said.

  Nodine stepped through the door with his hands up. He was bleeding from his shoulder and lower thigh. He smiled at Lovell when he recognized him. "So, it's you again. I sees you still gots blood in your eye."

  "I see you're still too smart to make a fight of it."

  Nodine smiled and nodded slowly. "Yes, sir. Dis child's momma didn't raise no fool."

  "Where's Parks?"

  "He's in dere. He gots a hole in his chest the size of a two-bit piece. You didn't give him much of a warning."

  "He was resisting arrest. Didn't he tell you that?"

  Nodine grinned knowingly. "Yes, sir. Dat's what he said jus before I come out here. He had his gun in his hand and was resisting arrest."

  "Step down here and place your hands behind your back."

  Nodine stepped down the steps and grimaced when he felt the cold steel of Lovell's shotgun barrels against the back of his neck. He slowly lowered his arms and allowed Lovell to place the handcuffs on him. Ned Bells and the deputies advanced slowly across the yard toward the house. Lovell shoved Nodine to Bells and cautiously stepped through the front door of the house.

  Yancy Parks was sitting, propped against the wall, his chest bleeding heavily. "You killed me. You didn't give me no chance at all," he croaked.